/1\f

CLAVECIN PIECES OF LOUIS COUPERIN

THESIS

Presented to the Graduate Council of the

North Texas State University in Partial

Fulfillment of the Requirements

For the Degree of

MASTER OF MUSIC

by

Cecilia K. Knox, B. M., B. A.

Denton, Texas

January, 1968

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PageLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ... @. .@ 9....i.. iv

Chapter

I. THE CLAVECIN SCHOOL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

II. LOUIS COUPERIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

III. PE-iFOR14ING EDITION OF A PRELUDE. . . . . . . . 43

BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . - . . . . . . . * -* * . * * 50

lii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure

1.

2.

3.

4.

5,

6.

7.

8.

9,

10.

11.

12.

13.

Page

. . . . . . . 29

. . . . . . * 31

. . a . . . . 31

. . . . . . . 32

. . . . a a . 33

. . . . . . . 33

. a . . . .. 34

. . . . . . . 34

. . . . . . . 34

. . . . . . . 36

Couperin. . . 39

Couperin. . . 40

. . . . . .' . 41

iv

Passacaille in G Minor, No. 99. ..

Sarabande in D Minor, No. 51. .. .

Chaconne in F Major, No. 80 . . .

Sarabande in C Major, No. 21. . .

Sarabande in D Minor, No. 50. . . .

Chaconne in F Major, No. 78 . .ao

Sarabande in D Minor, No. 47. . . .

Sarabande in D Minor, No. 51. ..

Sarabande in D Minor, No. 51. . .

Allemande in G Major, No. 83. . .

Ornaments in Use at the Time of Louis

Ornaments in Use at the Time of Louis

Courante in C Major, No, 16 . . .. .

k

CHAPTER I

THE CLAVECIN SCHOOL

Louis Couperin (c. 1626-1661) was an outstanding

member of the seventeenth-century clavecin school and an

important link in the Couperin dynasty.

His works for the harpsichord, or clavecin, have been

neglected. This is due primarily to the fact that there

are relatively few of his works, in comparison with those

of his nephew, Franois Couperin Le Grand, who greatly

overshadows him. Louis wrote no treatise on how his works

are to be played, and there are few accounts of him, or his

works, that are written in English. There is no biography

of Louis Couperin.

A more detailed study should be made of his music and

its place in the French clavecin literature. Before

examiinig the music itself, however, it is necessary to

trace the origins and development of the clavecin school

and its style.

The music written for clavecin in the seventeenth and

eighteenth centuries is of great importance in the sub-

sequent development of keyboard music. It must be under-

stood that the evolution of the clavecinists' style is not

entirely dependent upon that of the instrument itself, but,

to a large extent, is inherent in the development of the lute.

1

2

The classic European lute was a round instrument with a

clearly defined neck separating it from the body of the

instrument. Its back had from nine to thirty-three ribs

and in the center of the upper surface there was a large

circular rose, a highly ornamented opening. The lutefs most

interesting aspect was its backward head. Five pairs of

unison gut strings and one single string composed the eleven

strings. There were seven or eight frets, which were

generally pieces of gut tied across the fingerboard. At the

height of its development, there were bass strings added in

courses (unison strings) which ran alongside the fingerboard

and could not be altered in pitch. The other strings were

tuned: A-D-F-A'-D'-F'.

The lute apparently originated in the East. The

Persians introduced it to the Arabs, who took it to Europe

in the Middle Ages, probably during the Crusades (c. 1250).

It is highly probable that it was introduced first in Spain

where it developed its distinct neck and central soundholes.

By the fourteenth century. . . at leastone bowed string instrument (the viella) andits successors appear to have been capable ofexecuting any of the contemporary vocal music.

The viella (or vihuela) had only two strings and was played

in first position only. Since its range was that of the

1Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, Style in Musical Art,p. 111, cited in Lloyd Hibberd, "The Early Keyboard Prelude,"unpublished doctoral dissertation, School of Music, HarvardUniversity, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1941, p. 29.

3

male voice, it was probably used for accompanying singers.2

The lute spread from Spain to other European countries. From

the fifteenth century on, the lute could play more than one

part, but it was still used primarily to double or fill in

for the voice. Gradually its music became more independent.

Henri de Gani-re was the first French lutenist of whom

thre is a record.3 The lutenists developed their own form

of notation, called tablature, and in 1529 this appeared in

Pierre Attaignant's works, eighteen basse-danses. There

were lines to indicate the strings and figures (or letters)

to designate the frets. The French indicated the lowest

string by the lowest line, which sees inore logical than

the Italian and Apanish practice of indicting the lowest

string by the highest line.

The editors and the printers, whose principal interest

was to publish books that assured them a profit, were very

much occupied with the lute books.4 In 1551, there were

1,500 copies of the works of Albert de Ripe published.5 This

indicates the large number of amateur lute players there were

at that time.

21ibberd, p. 87.

34ichhl Brenet, Notes sur l'histoire du luth enFrance, p. 63?, cited in Gustave Reese, Music in theRenaissance (New York, 1954), p. 553.

4Daniel Heartz, Le luth et sa musique (Paris, 1958),p. 7?.

5Reese, p. 553.

4

The members of the Gaultier family were the most

renowned lute players of the sixteenth century, the most

famous being Ennemond Gaultier ("Le Vieux") and Denis

Gaultier ("Le Jeune"). Students of the Gaultiers founded

the Parisian lute school: Mouton, Gallot, Du Bout, and

Du Faux, who carried this highly developed art all over

Europe.

During the sixteenth century the lute occupied a

prominent place in musical culture as the chief instrument

of domestic music. It was considered extremely fashionable,

even a sign of good breeding, to play the lute. This

increase in popularity was due, in large part, to the fact

that nobility and royalty were becoming interested in

learning to play the lute. Anne of Austria, mother of

Louis XIV, took lute lessons from a member of the Gaultier

family. The lute was also employed more and more in the

orchestras, so lutenists were compelled to adopt the pitch

and tuning of the other instruments.

The French lute school reached a point of perfection

which almost coincided with the real beginnings of keyboard

music in France.6 The lutenists modified the ideas of the

English virginal school, but, unlike the virginalists, they

6John Gillespie, "Harpsichord Works of Nicolas LeBegue," unpublished doctoral dissertation, School of Music,University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1951,p. 61.

5

began to lose contact with their popular origins, and to

connect themselves with the organized pr4cieux movement in

society.7

Around the middle of the seventeenth century, the

Marquise de Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne, had attracted

a large group of followers composed of the leading writers

and most outstanding people of Paris. They attempted to

purify the language and to carry their activities to a high

degree of refinement and sophistication.

Wishing to have only the most cultured people about

her, the Marquise had an extremely large drawing room

constructed which also served as her bedroom. On each side

of the bed were spaces known as the deviant and ruelle. The

Marquise frequently received guests while seated on the bed;

thus the term ruelle became synonymous with a reception, or

being received. Within the ruelles or salons witty conver-

sation alternated with imported parlor games, music, and

dancing.

Imitators of the HOtel de Rambouillet carried this

refinement to extremes. It was not uncommon to hear such

expressions as "sustenance of life" used to describe a piece

of bread.

Prdciosit6 suffered a terrible blow in 1659 when

Molibre presented Les pr4cieuses ridicules, a satire not

7Wilfrid Mellers, Franpois Couperin and the FrenchClassical Tradition (London, 1950),p. 189.

6

only on the imitators of prciosit6, but also on the movement

itself. The nobility, who had been the leading exponents of

r4ciositl, eventually realized the absurdity of their

affectations, and the movement disintegrated during the

reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715).

It was inevitable that the lutenists should be

attracted to this movement, in their own efforts to be highly

refined. They became the leading representatives of the

ruelles and salons. Like the literary exponents of pisi-

ositJ, they "strove in their ornamentation, their stylized

refinement, even their methods of fingering the instrument,

to become a musical elect, preserving their music from

popular contagion."8 They even invented their own fanciful

language, imposing strange titles on many of their pieces.

Having reached the peak of its perfection around 1590,

the lute began to decline in popularity toward the end of

the seventeenth century, Its number of strings had

increased to twenty, and many people did not want to go to

the trouble to learn the tablature. It had been so highly

developed that, in its completed form, it "belonged to the

realm of absolute and artistic music."9 Many lutes were

transformed into other instruments,

8Mellers, p. 190.

9Hortense Panum, The Stringed Instruments of theMiddle Ages (London, c. 1939)1,p. 421.

7

A seventeenth-century dialogue between an author and

his despairing lute reads: "Lute: How can that be, since

Fame has Cry'd me down/ With that Fools-Bolt, I'm out of

Fashion grown."10

There were sound reasons for the emergence of the

harpsichord (or clavecin) in France. The lute was limited

by human deficiencies. The hand could perform only a few

simultaneous tones, and the tonal balance of parts was

complicated by the resonance of the different strings. The

lutenists were further limited by the number of fingers and

strings, which sometimes made certain notes impossible to

play. Also, there were a number of improvements in the

construction of the harpsichords, due largely to the Ruckers

family, famous for fine instruments in the sixteenth and

seventeenth centuries. Some harpsichordists actually

wanted to take over the glittering places of honor occupied

by the lutenists.

The keyboard suites of the clavecinists are linked

with the lute music of Gaultier. Many of the characteristics

of later clavecin composers can be traced to the technique

and limitations of the lute. Weitzmann feels that the

French school received its impetus from the English virginal

school via the French lutenists. 1 '

1 0 Thomas Mace, Musick's Monument, I (Paris, 1958), p. 33.11C, F. Weitzmann, Geschichte der Klaviermusik,

pp. 155-156, cited in Gillespie, p.~95 .

8

Pieces written in lute style had to be played with

the utmost sensitivity and delicacy. Gaultier particularly

warned the player to play slowly. Pieces in this lute style

can be recognized by their broken figuration, isolated

snatches of melody, and wavering texture.

Many of the compositions were based on the modes.

In France, there were theories about the proper effects of

the modes, just as there were in other musically prominent

countries during the seventeenth century. The titles of

the modes were associated with certain keys and key

signatures; pieces written in any of the modes were con-

sidered to embody the characteristics of that mode, and

were to be performed accordingly.

Denis Gaultier's La rhjtorique des dieux is a collection

of lute suites composed in each of the twelve modes. Gaultier

was an artist as well as a musician; he illustrated the

moods associated with each of the twelve modes by drawing

a picture and placing it at the beginning of each suite.

Lydian mode was considered to be sombre and austere.

caultier's picture reveals the inside of a dark tomb.

There are two mourning cupids, one holding a torch, the

other beating a muffled drum. Various instruments are in

the foreground, one being a shawm, which is associated

with funeral music, There is a skull and an owl.

Mixolydian mode was amorous. Heavy draperies and

coverings form the background for two enamored cupids, who

9

sit on a bench. Other cupids play a portative, a lyre, and

a psaltery.

Phrygian mode was oriental; accordingly, most of the

instruments are of Eastern derivation: cymbals, double

oboe, serpent, and small drums resembling tambourines.

Hypophrygian was warlike. A male cupid is dressed in armour

with sword and helmet. Instruments are trumpets, recorders,

harp, lyre, viol, and viola da gamba. The lute is pictured

in each of the modes. This might illustrate the various

moods and styles in which the instrument could be used.

The importance of the literary associations of certain

keys has perhaps been exaggerated, yet it is more than

probable that many composers and players took them seriously.

Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres (1602-1672) was the

first in a series of brilliant keyboard composers. Besides

teaching the Couperin family and introducing them to musical

society, he taught nearly all the leading clavecinists of the

latter half of the seventeenth century. He is considered

the founder of the clavecin school, whose members include

Jean Henri DAnglebert (1628-1691), Nicolas-Antoine

Le Begue (1631-1702), Louis Couperin (1626-1661), Elizabeth

Jacquet (1664-1729), Frangois Couperin Le Grand (1668-1733),

Jean-Baptiste Loeillet (1680-1730), Jean Frangois Dandrieu

(1682-1738), and which culminated in the works of

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764).

10

The name "Chambonnires" was added after Jacques

Champion was married to a land-owning widow. He added the

name of her estate, Chambonnieres, to his own name. His

father and grandfather had been organists, so Chambonniares

had realized the importance of music from the time of his

early childhood, He excelled in playing the clavecin, and,

as a performer, he was noted for his soft, yet full, tone.

Chambonnthres was not interested in writing for the

church service. His position as court musician to Louis XIV

required that he entertain the court society with dance

music. So he devoted himself almost exclusively to the

compositions modeled after dance types, While Lully was

writing the first French operas and composing music for the

ballet and court dances, Chambonnieres was composing dances

of every kind, largely the same that prevail in the suites

of Bach. He grouped them in suites and gave each piece a

descriptive title, although it seldom showed any real

connection with the music. He did not reduce himself

willingly to the role of a story-teller or a painter,12

"Like Gaultier, Chambonnie'res was a product of the

2rncieux society, a leading musical representative of the

dAtel de Rambouillet."1 3 However, simplicity was one of the

dominant qualities of his music. He left to others the

12Andrt Pirro, Les clavecinistes (Paris, c. 1924),p. 66.

13Mellers, p. 195.

11

task of finding doubles, or variations, for his own pieces.

"This sort of trivial work was not for a man who rode in a

carriage and was treated like a baron."14

He felt that there was no great need for development

of themes. Being a wise person who knew human nature, he

realized that the salon listeners did not enjoy hearing long

works. ChambonnlIres frequently carried the musical thought

considerably farther than the commonplace scheme that the

four-measure phrase demanded.'5 His allemandes _re

especially noted for the extended flow of the musical

phrase. The same tendency toward continuity can be seen in

the harmonic structure wiich often modulates unexpectedly

instead of ending with the usual cadence.

Although he did not reject the scholas tic heritage of

his organist ancestors, Chambonnibres revealed his own

personality in the use of more intricate rhythms, promoted

by the use of free-voice broken style.

Like those of Gaultier, Chambonni4res' suites consist

of three main types of dances: allemandes, courantes, and

marabandes. In addition, there are optional gigues. There

is no thematic linking of material. Each dance movement

was individualized and the movement itself was more

14Herbert Wiseman, "Les clavecinistes," T hHerit A

of Music, I (Oxford, 1934), p. 35. Translated by CeciliaZn'"ox.

1 5willi Apel, Masters of the Keyboard (Cambridge,1965), p. 92.

12

important than the suite as a whole. Chambonnieres desired

a great deal of contrast between movements, with the key as

the sole element of unification.

All the dances are of common bipartite form with

repetition of each section. Chambonnieres was the first to

print an explanatory table of symbols in his publication,

although there are relatively few ornaments in his works.

Louis Couperin, the first of the Couperin dynasty,

went to Paris with Chambonni'eres, as his prot4ge and

student. He was presented to court life, where he appeared

in the court ballets, and played the viol in the theater

orchestra. From 1650 until 1661 he was organist at Saint

Gervais, a post held by members of the Couperin family for

one hundred seventy-three years, or until 1826. Louis

composed pieces for clavecin, organ, and viol.

Jean Henri D'Anglebert also studied with Chambonnigres

and succeeded him as clavecinist to Louis XIV in 1664.

Like Chambonnieres, he published instructions on the

figured bass in his 1689 collection, Pices de clavecin

avec la mannibr6 de s ejoer, containing suites,

arrangements, and variations. He was succeeded as court

musician by his son, Jean Baptiste Henri D'Anglebert

(1661-1747).

This generation, especially D'Anglebert, made a

musical shorthand of the embellishments Chambonnieres had

13

been careful to write out.16 For example, they used a

slanted stroke for the measured arpeggio.

D'Anglebert's technique surpassed that of his prede-

cessors by the richness of its texture and the full

utilization of the high and low range of the clavecin.1 7

He expanded the suite by lengthening the single dances

without sacrificing the bipartite form. In this care for

form, as well as for style, he carried on the tradition

of Chambonnibres, but developed it to a higher degree,

perhaps an even higher one than that attained by Frangois

Couperin.

D'Anglebert transcribed many airs and overtures by

Lully, transferring the sonorities of the Lullian orchestra

to the clavecin. The five fugues that D'Anglebert added to

his clavecin collection were also variation ricercares on a

single theme.

Elizabeth Jacquet was one of the few women composers

of the period. She studied music with her father and was

patronized by Louis XIV. Her fourteen Pi!ces de clavecin

were published in 1707.

Nicolas-Antoine Le Begue used relative major and

minor keys, which can also be found in the ballet entres

of Lully; thus, he weakened the feeling for unity of key.

16Manfred F. Bukofzer, Music in the Baroqu Era(New York, 1947), p. 171.

17Ibid,.

He eliminated the fugal section from the rhapsodic preludes,

and gave more precise rhythmic indications than Louis

Couperin had done.

Although best known for his work as court organist, he

also wrote pieces for clavecin. His suites foreshadow

certain features of late Baroque harmony with their rich

chromaticism. In addition, he did not title his dances.

Ornamentation in his pieces is quite profuse.

There is no way of knowing if Le Bgueornamented his pieces so profusely to pleasea frivolous, if refined public, or if heactually considered them indispensable tohis music.1 8

The Belgian composer Loeillet came as a connecting

link between Chambonnibres and Frangois Couperin. He was

a notable clavecinist and flutist, playing oboe and flute

at the Queen's theater until 1?10. He followed the Italian

tradition in his six suites of lessons for the harpsichord,

and he also wrote sonatas. His music is noteworthy for the

fine workmanship of his counterpoint.

Franjois Couperin Le Grand was the son of Charles

Couperin, who was also his first teacher, and the nephew of

Louis Couperin. In 1685, he became organist at Saint

Gervais, a post he held until his death. He competed for,

and received, the title "Organiste du Roi" in 1693. Being

renowned as an organist, he received many royal honors.

18Gillespie, p. 134.

15

The French school of clavecinists reached a high point

in the works of Frangois Couperin, justly called "The

Great." His compositions may be conveniently divided into

three categories: those written for the Church, those

written for the King, and those for the general public.

He wrote four books of Pibces de clavecin which consist

of suites, or ordres, as he called them. The length of each

ordre varies from as few as four to as many as twenty-three

compositions. In all there are 230 pieces, or twenty-

seven ordres.

These books indicated a definite break with the

tradition of Baroque music, and inaugurated the period of

the musical Rococo, or, as it is frequently called, the

"gallant style." This break was characterized by a "turning

away from the basic attitude of dignified seriousness which

theretofore had pervaded the entire music of the Baroque

period, secular as well as sacred."19

The first of Couperin's sets of ordres was published in

1713, two years before the death of Louis XIV. It consists

of five ordres, which follow to a certain extent the normal

plan of the suite. Even in the first book, Couperin's

individuality is expressed by his refusing to bow to con-

vention and endeavoring to find words to designate his

moods.

19Bukofzer, p. 157.

The first, second, third, and fifth ordres begin in

quite orthodox fashion, with an allemande, two courantes,

and a serabande. It should be noted that descriptive tags

and sub-titles are sometimes given to indicate their

character. Descriptive terms are "affectionately,"

"languidly," "naively," "nonchalantly," and "graciously."

Subtitles under "Les petits Ages," for example, are "La

muse naissante," "L'enfantine," and "L'adolescent."

In the fourth ordre, Couperin broke away entirely

from tradition. There is no allemande or courante.

Although Couperin continued to utilize traditional dance

patterns, he abandoned iance titles and replaced them by

fanciful designations or names of allegorical or real

persons that the music allegedly portrayed. These are

followed by a number of pieces, in one case as many as

fourteen, most of which are no longer modeled after dances,

but are freely invented compositions with descriptive

titles. Others bear inscriptions which are evidently

dedications of some sort. Some of the titles are meant

to portray some characteristic trait of the person for

whom the piece was written, presumably a lady of the court.

In the three later books, the dance types disappear

completely and the ordres consist of from four to six

freely invented pieces, with descriptive or dedicatory

titles. In many of the ordres, the only link between the

17

movements is that of tonality. In the third book, for

example, each piece in the ordre has the same tonic. It

may be major or minor, there may be numerous modulations,

but the tonic is the same.

Many clavecin pieces by Couperin show a novel technique

of composition: the use of a short, characteristic keyboard

figure or motive as the basis of the entire piece, this

motive being carried through from the beginning to the end

by means of harmonic progressions and modulations. The

short repetitive phrases were typical of the early Rococo

style and were intricately ornamented.

Many of Couperin's forms stemmed from those of the

opera, The form that he liked best and used most exten-

sively was the rondeau, which he lengthened by repeating

the refrain.

Among Couperin's pieces are numerous examples of

program music, a category which was quite prominent in the

Baroque era. Couperin concerned himself mostly with

portraying objective things, such as the cries of birds,

the noise of a battle, the flight of an army, the running

of a brook, and even the limping of cripples. The program

is not taken too seriously since the emphasis was placed on

the music. The idea is incorporated into the musical

texture without letting it take full possession.

18

In 1716, Franjois Couperin published a treatise,

L'art de toucher le clavecin, taking care to explain

ornaments, fingering, phrasing, his signs, and other details

that might be a problem to students and performers. His

method, as he called it, is the most representative of all

the treatises that were written on the subject of French

clavecin playing. "This work was known to J. S. Bach and

his sons and highly esteemed by them."20 Although not the

first method of keyboard playing, it was the most authori-

tative.

Franpois Couperin proposed several reforms that

approach modern principles of fingering, notably the use of

the small finger and thumb for the smooth playing of scales,

and the legato rendition of two parallel thirds. (Before,

these had been played with the second and fourth fingers

only, making only staccato playing possible.) Couperin

himself advised that when all explanations are exhausted,

it is best that one appeal to his own taste and sensitivity.

The clavecinists after Couperin found it difficult to

surpass his accomplishments. The main difference was in

the wider scope of the harmonies. A number of masters

produced compositions of excellent quality: Marchand

(1669-1733), organist at Nevers Cathedral, well-known

through the anecdote of his projected meeting with Bach;

20 Edward Dannreuther, Musical Ornamentation (London,1893), p. 99.

19

Clerambault, a pupil of Raison; Dieupart, whose works

Bach found worth his while to copy; Dandrieu, and finally

Rameau.

Dandrieu took the position as organist at Saint Merry

in Paris in 1704. His importance lies In his works for

clavecin, written in a style closely resembling that of

Couperin. He was a student of Marchand.

Jean-Philippe Rameau was a man who took his art most

seriously, and ". . . by his studies in harmony and by his

compositions made a far greater mark on the general trend

of music than Couperin."21

Rameau's three books of ices dQe clavecin sum up the

entire development of clavecin technique in France. He

held various important positions as organist, but lost to

Daquin the position of organist at Saint Vincent de Paul.

Marchand, probably out of jealousy, had exerted his powerful

influence to help Daquin, who was in every respect inferior

to Rameau. Consequently, Rameau became organist at

Sainte-Croix-de-la-Bretonnerie, and soon was recognized as

one of the foremost organists in France.

Much of his music incorporates the programmatic idea

into the musical texture, although some of his first

compositions did not even have titles. The program still

does not take full possession.

21.Wiseman, p. 47.

20

Following the path of D'Anglebert, Rameau expanded

the keyboard technique by quasi-orchestral and percussive

batteries, extreme skips, crossing of the hands, and

measured tremolos,22 These innovations closely paralleled

those of Domenico Scarlatti.

Like Chambonnibres and Franois Couperin, Rameau gives

rules for the fingering and the agr6ments.

His calculated modulations and chromaticism show that

he was preoccupied with harmony. Harmonic progressions

took precedence over melody. He contended that melody was

nothing more than an outgrowth of harmony. These progressions

were carried out by precise rhythmic motives, and they gave

his clpvecin pieces consistency and formal unity. The

leading ideas of his system of harmony are chord-building

by thirds, the classification of a chord and its inversions

as one and the same chord, and his invention of a fundamental

bass.23

His own writings imply a certain laxity in the inter-

pretation of rules. Rameau himself said, "Generally speaking,

one may omit doubles (variations) and repeats of a rondeau

that one finds too difficult." 24 Thirty years later he

22 Bukofzer, p. 253.

23"Jean-Philippe Rameau," Baker's Bioraphical Dic-tionary of Musicians, 5th ed. (New York, 1965), P.1303.

24Jean-Philippe Rameau, Pieces de clavecin, edited byErwin Jacobi (London, 1958-59)4,7.

21

stated, "When there hand cannot easily take in two keys at the

same time, one may abandon the one that is not absolutely

necessary to the melody, for one must not be expected to do

the impossible."25

Relatively speaking, the list of great musicians which

France produced during the early part of the seventeenth

century is small. However, these French masters possessed

the supreme art of saying much in a few words. That is

why their pieces are short without being small.

It is not a question of appreciating musicof the eighteenth century following our owntaste, that of the twentieth century; nor is ita question of formulating categorical judgementson the actual value of the works of a Rameau ora Couperin. With ancient music, modern music, itis not a question of establishing a regulatedcomparison between one and the other in order toexalt one at the expense of the other. Bycomparing them we will help to better understandthe music of the eighteenth century, that is tosay, to understand it as those contemporary withit understood it.26

"It is from the old masters of the clavecin, that

the brilliant pianists of our day have evolved," 27

25Marc Pincherle, "On the Rights of the Interpreterin the Performance of 17th and 18th Century Music,"Musical quarterly, XLIV (April, 1958), p. 47.

26Louis Striffling, Esqulse d'une histoire du

&a ;musical en France auXVIII sTiE (Paris, c.~1912),p. 12. Translatedy Ce cilia Knox.

27Mary Hargrave, The Earlier French Musicians(London, 1919), p. 89.

CHAPTER II

LOUIS COUPERIN

There were eight children born to Charles Couperin

and his wife, Marie Andry Couperin. Three of these children

became important musicians: Louis, Franpis, and Charles

(father of Franjois Le Grand). These Couperins began the

celebrated clavecin dynasty.

Music historians do not know the exact date of the

birth of Louis Couperin. The baptism records for the years

1625 to 1634 are missing for the parish of Chaumes, in the

province of Brie (now the department of Seine-et-Marne).

It was during this interval that Louis and Franois

Couperin were born. Since it is believed that Louis died

when he was thirty-five years of age, the date of his birth

has been set at 1626.

In his youth, Louis Couperin practiced the viol and

organ, and even composed under the supervision of his

father. Charles Couperin was a merchant and landowner at

Chaumes. In addition, and more important, he was a musician

and played the organ at L'Abbaye Saint-Pierre-de-Chaumes.

At that time, it was common for people to have several

occupations that had no relation to each other.

Probably the most important event in the musical

career of Louis Couperin was his meeting with Chambonnieres.

22

23

Chambonnibres was at that time (c. 1646) a musician in the

Chambre du Roi, and his reputation was already widespread.

He owned a chAteau a short distance from Chaumes, and

the three younger Couperins decided to play an aubade, a

morning serenade, for him on Saint Jacques' Day (July 25),

the day of Chambonnieres' patron saint. Chambonnibres was

dining with some neighbors and the Couperins sat in the

door of the room and played on their viols some pieces that

Louis had written. Being enchanted with the beauty of the

music, Chambonnibres asked who was the composer, and then

invited all three Couperins to join him and his guests at

their meal. He paid Louis the supreme compliment of saying

that a man as talented as he should not remain in the pro-

vince. Then he invited Louis to go to Paris with him.

Couperin accepted the invitation.

Louis Couperin was warmly received in Paris. In 1653,

he became organist at Saint-Gervais, beginning his duties

on Easter Sunday.1 He held the position until his death in

1661.

In 1659, the King became dissatisfied with Chambonnieres

and asked Louis Couperin to take over Chambonnibres* title,

"Musicien Ordinaire de la Chambre du Roi." Couperin's

feelings of sentiment toward his master were so great that

1Paul Brunold, Le erand orgue de Saint-Gervais _iParis (Parts, 1934),~P. 50.

he refused the title. So the King created a position

specifically for Couperin: "Chargd de Dessus de Viole."

Couperin had already composed a number of works and

was studying the works of Chambonnieres and Gaultier when

he died. The cause of his death is not known.

Louis Couperin holds a place entirely apart in the

history of French music. Probably the diversity of his

talents prevented his name from becoming better known.

The virtuoso and the composer are twoenemies. Progress and success of one hinderthe progress and success of the other. Tohold the pen tires the fingers; and applausedraws one away from writing.2

In his short career, Louis Couperin "did not have

time to speak anything except what he felt."3 In every

way, he distinguished himself from his teacher. Pirro

states that Louis Couperin had more things to say, and more

ways to say them.

Chambonnieres' pupil was a much more vigorous person-

ality than his teacher. Couperin's pieces show a sturdy

contrapuntal technique and an almost aggressive use of

dissonance that is alien to the refined discretion of his

2Andr4 Pirro, "Louis Couperin: La musique aux champs,E. la ville, et &a Ia cour sous Louis XIV," La revue musicale,I, (Nov., 1920), p. 17. Translated by Cecilia Knox.

3Julien Tiersot, Les Couperins (Paris, 1926), p. 69.Translated by Cecilia Knox.

4Pirro, Les clavecinistes, p. 72.

25

master. Tiersot further states that their styles are so

far apart that Chambonnieres should be considered a grand-

father rather than a father to Louis Couperin; that

Chambonnieres' music is archaic compared to that of Couperin.5

Except for some pieces for the viol and several works

written for the organ, the Pieces de clavecin constitute

all the preserved works of Louis Couperin. He composed 134

pieces for the clavecin, fourteen of which are preludes.

The origin of the dance pieces may be traced back to

the fifteenth century.

The ancestry of the dance type Isclear; it comes from ballet music. Theancestry of the Senre, piece with a namehas been traced back to the Englishvirginalists, whence it spread to luteand keyboard music in the seventeenthcentury. But it is even older. A manu-script collection of Burgundian bassedances of the first third, or middle ofthe fifteenth century contains some sixtypieces all which bear. . . descriptivenames.

However. the prelude is by far the oldest form of music

employed in the clavecin repertoire. It was common to the

Arabs,7 so it is highly probable that the form of the

prelude developed with the lute itself.

5Tiersot, p. 134.

6Cuthbert Girdlestone, Jean-Philippe Rameau: HisLife and Works (London, 195T7T. 17.

7Hibberd, p. 270.

26

There can be little doubt that thepreludes and similar pieces were executedon instruments, especially the viella, inthe Middle Ages by the troubadours, jong-leurs, and minnesingers.

In the dance suite, the typical prelude was actually a

toccata, in the Italian sense, a piece written without

barlines and in free rhythm.

The fourteen preludes of Louis Couperin are modeled

after the lute preludes of Gaultier, particularly those in

his flhkorique des, dieux. Four of them are in tripartite

form: the first prelude in D Minor, the third in G Minor,

the sixth in A Minor and the twelfth in F Major.

The first sections are non-measured, written entirely

in whole notes. The only rhythmic indication is what might

be inferred from the harmonic changes.

The middle sections are fugal, opening with one voice

and thickening to four at the end. The first, third, and

sixth preludes have the indication Changement de movement

at the beginning of the middle section.

The closing sections are again in the arpeggiated,

free style.

The other ten preludes are in one section only,

that being entirely in free style.

Frangois Couperin wrote the same type of pieces to

try out a clavecin on which he had never played, to

8Ibid.

27

introduce a new key (i.e., to set or change moods), and to

warm his fingers.9 It is highly probable that those of

Louis Couperin were written for the same purpose, although

some years before those of Franois Couperin.

The performer is left entirely to his own resources in

the performance of the preludes. Many musicians choose to

play the dance pieces instead of the preludes.

Since the pieces are improvisatory in character, it

is important that the performer interpret them as he wishes.

A large part of the charm of these preludes is this very

quality of improvisation, an attempt on the part of the

composer to be less than specific. When one writes out the

rhythm, he has lost that extemporaneous flavor. However,

the novice will be benefited by writing out the prelude,

first mapping out the various harmonies using the bass as

a guide line.

Within the 120 remaining pieces, there are ten suites,

one suite having as many as twenty-three individual pieces.

This is in sharp contrast to Chambonnieres, whose suites

were likely to contain four or five pieces, and never

exceeded eight pieces.

Excluding the fourteen preludes, nearly all the pieces

have dance titles. The more common dances compose the

greater part of his works. There are thirty-one courantes,

9Franpois Couperin, L'art de toucher le clavecin(Wiesbaden, Germany, 19337, p. h.

28

thirty-one sarabandes, seventeen allemandes, and ten

chaconnes,10 all of which are generally short. A few of the

dances are of the older type: six gigues, two passacailles,

two Menuets (numbers 112 and 113 are the same), two

gaillardes, one canarie, one volte, one pastourelle, one

pavane ("La Piemontoise"), and one branle ("Branle de

Basque").

The most interesting of all the dances are the

chaconnes. They are formed as a type of rondo in which a

principal thought alternates with a secondary thought,

called a couplet.

Louis Couperin's chaconnes proceed withrelentless power and are usually dark incolor and dissonant in texture. He occasionallyallows the modulations of the outlets to becontinued into the repetition of the theme,compromising. . . between traditional statictechnique and the new sense of tonal relation-ship.1"

Some of the allemandes are quite lively, others are

less so. Their very diversity is one of the most interesting

things about them. One may be funbre, another triumphant,

and a third, troubled and despairing.

In many respects the G Minor passacaille, number

ninety-nine, is Louis Couperin's grandest piece. It is

t0There is anther chaconne which was previouslyattributed to Frangois Couperin. It is now believed tobe composed by Louis Couperin.

1 Mellers, p. 202.

29

certainly the longest, and has many interesting harmonic

aspects, including chromaticism. There is a long section

in the relative major and the piece ends with a return to

G Minor. There are numerous ornaments and interesting

sequences.

Fig. 1--Passacaille in G Minor, No. 99

One of the chaconnes is also designated as a passa-

caille. The gigues are not of a uniform structure, but

are nevertheless attractive. Another dance piece, "Branle

de Basque," is simply written, but quite elegant in style.

It must be emphasized that there is no thematic

linking in the suites. The unity is only that of key.

However, a performer is not obligated to play every piece

in the suite; he may choose only those which he cares to

play. Louis Couperin wrote in all the keys that the mean-

tone tuning12 made possible: C Major and A Minor; D Major

and B Minor; F Major and D Minor; G Major and E 4inor;

1 2 Meantone tuning was in use in France from 1500until c. 1850, when equal temperament was adopted.

Am

a* "Now awl"* aloft

"0" r

61da&WL-

30

A Major and F Sharp Minor; B Flat Major and G Minor; and

C Minor.

There are pieces which do not bear lance titles.

Couperin wrote a short piece in three movements entitled

"Pihce de Trois Sortes de Mouvements." In each section

there is a time signature: C, 3, 3/2, and C.

"Tombeau de Monsieur Blancrochet" is also in three

sections, each of which is repeated. The opening section

sounds almost recitative-like in character.

Nearly every piece that Louis Couperin composed is in

bipartite form, with each section being repeated. Some-

times there are three endings to the second, or last section.

Occasionally there is a short repeat in the form of a coda.

In the chaconnes, passacailles, and the pavane, each section

is called a couplet, and is what could conceivably be

called a slight variation on the melody. In the Grand

Coulet form, the first couplet, or theme, is called the

Grand Couplet, and this is played after each additional

couplet. The most common number of couplets is four, but

the passacaille in C Major, number twenty-seven, has ten

Souplets.

Couperin was a master of the use of variations.

These took the name of doubles in his works. His "Gavotte

de Monsieur Hardel" takes a little tune written by the

clavecinist Hardel and varies it in the second part of the

31

piece, entitled, "Double de la Gavotte par Monsieur

Couperin." He did the same thing in each of the following:

"Gavotte de Monsieur Le Begue," "Menuet de Poitou," and

"Le Moutier, Allemande de Monsieur de Chambonnieres."

Because of Couperin's predilection for major-minor

tonality, he helped reduce the use of the twelve church

modes to two. Although Couperin's harmonies are somewhat

restrained, he was far from being hesitant in the use of

dissonance, even at the beginning of a piece.

Fig. 2--Sarabande in D Minor, No. 51

Of course, the dissonances are always controlled.

There are usually three voices in his dances. To a

certain extent the number of voices chosen was influenced

by the type of dance being written. In the allemandes and

chaconnes, there is a maximum number of voices.

Fig. 3--'Chaconne in F Major, No. 80

c3 -tJn

I

32

In the lighter dances, such as the gavotte and menuet,

a thinner texture is used. Occasionally phrases and even

pieces end on empty octaves.

Fig. 4--Sarabande in C Major, No. 21

More fully-voiced chords are used at cadences and points

of emphasis regardless of the number of voices used through-

out the pieces.

Major scales are used simply and without alteration,

except for the seventh scale degree which is frequently

lowered. The melodic form of the minor is used with the

raised sixth and seventh scale degrees ascending, and

lowered descending. Often pieces written in minor keys

end in the relative major. All of the pieces in D Minor

(numbers thirty-five through forty-three) end in D Major.

Some end in Picardy thirds, and some contain measures of

modulatory material preceding the last measure.

There is a cadential sound throughout the pieces due

to the frequent use of I, IV, V, and V7 chords. Endings

are usually V or V?-I. The seventh is used frequently, and

is approached by step. Six-four chords are rare.

33

Modulation is usually by common chord.

There is frequent use of parallel thirds and sixths,

and usually these progressions involve a consistently

descending or ascending bass line.

Fig. 5,--arabande in D Minor, No. 50

It is almost impossible to find a piece by Louis

Couperin that is entirely harmonic in its scope. His use

of contrapuntal devices in dance movements is especially

interesting. He frequently used imitation.

F Major, No. 78

Am

FEZ

6--Chaeonne inFig.

34

There is even an example of strict canon in his works.

Fig. 7--.Ssrabande in D Minor, No. 47Ii II

Louis Couperin frequently used suspensions, sometimes

with ornamental resolutions.

.

iFig.

I . - f

8--Sarabande in D Minor, No. 51

They are not as harmonically pleasing as those of later

composers because the suspensions resolve up, rather than

down. Nevertheless, they play an important part in the

works of Louis Couperin.

There are no melodic innovations in his works. The

soprano line of each section usually has one high and one

low point.

Mot!

I

I

I

35

Francois Couperin said that the French wrote music

differently from the way they played it,13 He was referring

to the French convention of notes in6gales. This was a

variation of the rhythm of conjunct notes so that they

sounded almost as if they were dotted rhythms. In his

clavecin pieces, Franjois Couperin was careful to indicate

when he did not wish this practice to take place by writing

"notes 6gales."

There are many instances when this varying of the

rhythm should not be used in the works of Louis Couperin;

for example, it must never be used in allemandes. Louis

often wrote out exactly what he wished to be played.

Fig. 9--Sarabande in D Minor, No. 51

Quarter notes and eighth notes are the most common.

In a moving voice, there are not usually more than twelve

consecutive sixteenth notes. Thirty-second notes are rare.

The pieces do not suffer from the lack of movement, but to

the contrary, seem to be made tore dignified by the lack of it.

O3Franpois Couperin, p. 23.

36

There are only a few anticipations at the ends of the

pieces. Most of these anticipations are eighth notes; the

anticipatory sixteenth note at the end of Allemande in

G Major, number eighty-three, is an exception.

Fig. 10--Allemande in G Major, No. 83

It is difficult to decide what is the correct tempo.

Many of the dances have only the indication "3." Standing

alone, this once indicated a rather lively tempo. 4 The

ornamentation can be of some help in ascertaining the correct

tempo. Obviously, if a piece is heavily ornamented, it will

require a slower tempo. The performer must rely upon his

knowledge of the dance forms and upon his own sensitivity.

Louis Couperin exhibits the greatest of care in his

ornamentation.15 Although it is easily interpreted, his

ornamentation reveals a flair which appears to have been a

quality native in his family.16

14Howard Ferguson, Staynd a interpretation : Englandand France, I (Oxford, 1963) p. 8.

15Gilesie, p. 71.16Tiersot, p. 142.

, _________ _ ___________4

37

During the seventeenth century, the French, Germans,

and Italians all had different ways of notating their

ornaments. The French developed a system of signs for the

agreements, their name for ornaments. The Italians had few

ornaments, and the Germans laboriously wrote everything out.

Dolmetsch says that reliable information concerning

the interpretation of ornaments is to be found only in the

books of instructions which the old musicians wrote about

their own works.' 7 Unfortunately for his interpreters,

Louis Couperin left no treatise on how his works are to be

performed. The number of ornaments indicated is consider-

ably fewer than those in the works of the other members of

the clavecin school.

Although C. P. E. Bach praised the French for care-

fully indicating what they wanted,18 there are sometimes a

number of ornaments omitted in their music.

Either the composer has left the ornamentsout or he has indicated them by the conventionalsigns. In either case the composer has preparedhis music for the ornaments and if they are notused, we are violating his intentions, just as muchas if we altered the text.19

17Arnold Dolmetsch, Interpretation of Music of theSeventeenth and Eihteenth Centuries (London, 1913,P.~ vii.

18C. P. E. Bach, E on the True Art of Playingybo~ard Instruments, (New York, 1949) , p. 31.

1 9 Dolmetsch, p. 88.

38

The sparseness of ornaments in Louis Couperin may be an

indication that he was leaving the choice of which ornaments

to play, as well as where to play them, to the performer.

For a comprehensive view, one must compare the pieces

of Louis Couperin with the pieces and instructions of his

predecessors, contemporaries, and followers.

A comparison of the basic agrments used by

Chambonnibres,20 D'Anglebert,21 Franqois Couperin,2 2

and Rameau23 indicates that a number of the same ornaments

were used during the sixteenth and early seventeenth

centuries, Although some have different names, the basic

ornaments were generally performed the same way. There

were slight variations of many of the ornaments.

The following list of ornaments is comprised of the

names and executions of the agreements that were in use at

the time of Louis Couperin.

20Dannreuther, 1p 95.21Henry D'Anglebert, Pieces de clavecin (Paris, 1689),

p. 1#

22Franois Couperin, p. 39.23Dannreuther, p. 106.

Written

Played

MORDENT

(Pine simple,Pinck double)

Written

Played

or

Lq

TRILL and TURN

(Double cadence)

Written

Played

SLIDE

(Tibree coulbeen montant)

SLIDE

(Tihrce oouldeen descendent)

Fig. it--Ornaments in use at the time of Louis Couperin

39

TURN

(Double)

INVERTED MORDENT

(Tremblement)

L. J

Ile~

Written

Played

ARPEGEMENT

Written

Played

ARP GEMENT,MONTANT

ARP GEMENTEN DESCENDANT

Fig. 12'--Ornaments in use at the time of Louis Couperin

40

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41

For further study, one could examine the vocal

embellishments of the period, since instrumental melodic

style derived its ornaments from vocal music.24

All but a few of the works of Louis Couperin may be

played on the piano. During the time of his writing, the

two-manual clavecin was in common use, although one-manual

instruments were still being built.25 Those pieces that

are not easily performed on the piano have the indication

"Piece crois6e." This is an instruction for the piece to

be played on two keyboards, rather than to interlace the

fingers, which would result from playing on the same manual

with crossed hands.

Fig. 13--Courante in C Major, No. 16

There are similar instructions in the works of Franiois

Couperin. One often sees "A deux clavecins," indicating

performance on two manuals, rather than on two separate

instruments.

24Hibberd, p. 39.

25 Gillespie, p. 101.

42

Because of the great influence that the music of the

clavecinists had on J. S. Bach and his sons, it is well

worth the time of a keyboard player to investigate these

works.

The pieces of Louis Couperin can be of value in

teaching the music of the seventeenth century and in

revealing the qualities of contrapuntal music before Bach.

Although a harpsichord is not always available, these

pieces should not be hidden away. An enlightening

experience awaits the pianist.

CHAPTER III

PERFORMING EDITION OF A PRELUDE

The following musical examples are a prelude by Louis

Couperin, number twelve, in F Major, and a performing

edition of the same prelude. The edition is based upon

instructions given by Thurston Dart and Paul Brunold in

the Pieces de clavecin by Louis Couperin, Howard Ferguson

in his jjtje and Interpretation of French Music, and Denis

Gaultier in his instructions for the performance of

unmeasured preludes for lute.

The greater part of the rules set down by Brunold are

concerning the value of the whole notes and their places in

the measures. Gaultier also discusses whole notes, as well

as arpeggiated chords. The Dart edition of a prelude served

as an example only in the placement of tied notes. The

rhythm in his edition does not conform to the other pieces

written by Louis Couperin. It is somewhat erratic, and

rather than appearing spontaneous, gives one the feeling of

being planned. The Ferguson edition of a prelude wzs most

helpful in the distinguishing of harmonies.

The present prelude was played until the harmonic struc-

ture became apparent. This structure is preserved by the

rhythmic treatment. For example, most chord members are

placed on string beats, or strong parts of the beat.

43

44

Bass notes were guides for the placement of barlines.

All of the bass notes in this particular prelude serve as

chord members rather than appoggiaturas.

Slurred notes in the original manuscript are treated

either as notes which are to be held, as phrases, or as

two-note slurs. In measures four and six, slurs are inter-

preted as phrases. In measures six (C moving down to B),

nine, fifteen, and twenty-one, there are two-note slurs.

In measure one, all the chord members are sustained, even

though there are no slurs indicated in the original. In

measure two, the slur is ignored because it is much easier

to play B Flat with the left hand. Various slurs are

ignored because of dissonances they produce, or overlapping

voices.

Voices appear and disappear frequently, as they do in

the Dart and Ferguson examples. The order of notes is

exactly as it appeared in the manuscript. No notes are

added or omitted. Notes which are shown in the manuscript

to be simultaneous are indicated the same way in the edition.

Conjunct notes are treated as flourishes in short note

values.

The tempo should be moderate; the mood meditative.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Apel, Willi, Masters of the Keyboard, Cambridge, HarvardUniversity Press, 196.

Bach, Carl Philip Emanuel, E on the True Art ofPlaying jyard Instruments, translated by WilliamJ. Mitchell, New York, W. W. Norton and Co., 1949.

Bedbrook, Gerald Stares, Keyboard Music From the Middle4g to the Beginnina of the Baroque, London, MacmillanCompany, 1949.

Bessaraboff, Nicholas, Ancient European Musical Instruments,Boston, Harvard University Press, 1941.

Brooks, Donald, Masters of the Keyboard, London, Rockliffand Company7, 19on

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Le rand orgue de Saint-Gervais _2 Paris,Paris, L'Oiseau-Lyre, 193Wt

Bukofzer, Manfred F., Music in the Baroque Era, New York,W. W. Norton and Co., 197

Burney, Charles, A General History of Music from theEarliest Ages to the Present Period, L ,New York,Harcourt, Brace, and Co., 1925.

Cabos, Francine, Le violon et la lutherie, Paris, LibrairieGrund, 1948.

Couperin, FranQois, L'art de toucher le clavecin, Wiesbaden,Breitkopf and HJrtel, 1933.

Dart, Thurston, Edltin Early Music, London, Novello andCo., 1963.

, The Interpretation of Music, London,Fischer, Knight, and Co., 1964.

Dolmetsch, Arnold, Interpretation of Music of the XVII andXVIII Centuries, London, Novello and Co., 1915.

Donington, Robert, Interpretation of Ealy Music, London,Faber and Faber, 1963.

Ferguson, Howard, jfle and Interpretation of Early FrenchMusic, I, London, Oxford University Press, 1963.

Fowles, Ernest, Studies in Musical Graces, London, WinthtopRogers, 1907.

Grout, Donald Jay, A History of Western Music, New York,W. W. Norton and Co., 19TJ.

Hargrave, Mary, The Earlier French Musicians, London,K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, and Co., 1929.

Hofman, Schlomo, L'oeuvre de clavecin de Franois CouperinLe Grand, Paris, A. and J. Picard~and Co., 1961,

Hopkinson, C., A Dictionar of Parisian Music Publishers,London, Hopkinson, 19547

Hubbard, Frank, Three Centuries of irpichord MakjngCambridge, Harvard University Press1965.

Jacquot, Jean, La luth et sa musique, Paris, Centre Nationalde la Recherche Scientifique, 1958.

Kenyon, Max, Harpsichord Music, London, Cassell, Inc., 1949.

Krehbiel, Henry E., The Pianoforte and its Music, New York,C. Scribner's Sons,T3T25

Landowska, Wanda, Landowska on Music, translated by DeniseRestout, New York, Stein and Day, 1964.

Lgng, Paul Henry, and Ottis Bettman, Pictoral Hi ofMusic, New York, W. W. Norton and Co., 1960.

Laurencie, Lionel de la, Les musiciens c6lebres: Lesluthistes, Paris, Librairie Renouard, 192.

Mace, Thomas, Musick's Monument, Paris, Centre National dela Recherche Scientifique, 1676.

Sellers, Wilfrid, Francois Coperin and the French ClassicalTradition, London, Dennis Dobson,~195.

Migot, Georges, Jean-Philippe Rameau et le genie de lafsigue "Frangaise, Paris, Librairie Delagrave, 1930.

Niecks, Frederick, Programme Music in the Last FourCenturies, London, Novello and Company,~1906.

Panum, Hortense, The Stringed Instruments of the MiddleA , London, W. Reeves, c. 1939.

Parry, Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, The Evolution of theArt of Music, New York, Appleton and Co., 1932.

Pirro, Andr4, Les clavecinistes, Paris, Librairie Renouard,c. 1924.

Rameau, Jean-Philippe, Dissertation sur les differentesmdtodes daccompagnement 2our le layein, Paris,Bailleux, 1732.

Reese, Gustave, Music in the Renaissance, New York,W. W. Norton and Co., 1954.

Rokseth, Yvonne, La musique d'orgue au XVe sibcle et audebut du XVI, Paris, Librairie E. Droz, 1930.

Soderlund, Gustave, Direct Approach to Counterpoint inSixteenth-Centur Style, New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, In&.,41917.

Striffling, Louis, Esquisse d'une histoire du gfut musicalen France au XVIIIe siecle, Paris, Librairie Digave,1912.

Tessier, Andr4, Les imusiciens c41ebres: CouErin, Paris,Librairie Renouard, 1926.

Tiersot, Julien, Les Couperins, Paris, Librairie FelixAlcan, 1926.

Untersteiner, Alfredo, A Short Histor of Music, New York,Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1902.

Articles

Benoit, Marcelle, "Les musiciens Frangais de Marie-Louised'Orleans, Reine d'Espagne," La revue musicale, 1955,48-60.

53

Borren, Charles van den, "La musique de clavier au XVIIIesteele," La revue musicale, April, 1921, 22-38.

Coussermaker, E. H. de, "Essai sur les instruments demusique au moyen age," Annales archeoloiques, VI,1847, 164-165.

Donington, Robert, "The Harpsichord," Music and Letters,April, 1951, 201-202.

Hess, Albert G., "The Transition From Harpsichord to Piano,"The Gap Society Journal, July, 1953, 75-94.

Meylan, Raymond, "Recherche de parentes parmi les bassesdanses du quinzifme siele," Acta Musicologica,XXXVIII, January-March, 1966,T W67.

Pincherle, Marc, "On the Rights of the Interpreter of 17thand 18th Century Music," Musical Quarterly, April,1958, 145-166.

Pirro, Andr4, "Louis Couperin t Paris," La revue musicale,January-March, 1921, 129-150.

Saint-Foix, Georges de, "Les premiers pianistes Parisiens,"La revue musical, July 1, 1922, 121-136.

Wiseman, Herbert, "Les clavecinistes," The Heritage ofMusic, I, Oxford University Press, 19 3 4,3449.

Unpublished Material

Gillespie, John, "Harpsichord Works of Nicolas Le Bgue,"unpublished doctoral dissertation, School of Music,University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1951.

Griffith, Ruth Jane, "The Programmatic Clavecin Pieces ofFrangois Couperin," unpublished master's thesis,School of Music, North Texas State University, Denton,Texas, 1964.

Hibberd, Lloyd, "The Early Keyboard Prelude," unpublisheddoctoral dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge,1941.

Scores

Couperin, Louis, Pi'ces de clavecin, Monaco, L'Oiseau-Lyre,1959.

Dandrieu, Jean-Franqois, Music for Harpsichord, edited byJohn White, Pennsylvania State University Press,University Park, Pennsylvania, 1965.

D'Anglebert, Jean Baptiste Henri, Pees de clavecin,transcribed by Marguerite Roesgen-Champion, Paris,Librairie E. Droz, 1934.

Ferguson, Howard, editor, Early French Keyboard Music,Vol. II, London, Oxford University Press, T1966

Masterpieces of Or n Music: Selected Compositions of theOld Masters, New York, Liturgical Music Press, Inc.,0-45-4947.

Rameau, Jean-Philippe, Pieces de clavecin, edited by ErwinR. Jacobi, Basel, London, Barenreiter, 1958.